waiting makes me hungry (lyn)

Back in 1969, I was applying to college.  Although I was a straight A student, I went to an overcrowded public high school and had no one guiding me.  I applied to Boston University because my best friend was going there.  The three or four other schools I applied to were safeties.  Looking at any of the top branded schools never occurred to me.  I took the SAT’s once, was not tutored (no one was), and don’t remember much more about the process.  I ended up at BU and transferred two years later to Tufts (my ex-boyfriend went there).  It was a very different time.

The official process begins In June of 10^th grade when Alexander takes his first of three SAT 11’s (in Chemistry).  The unofficial process began when Alexander entered Horace Mann in 6th grade.

Junior year is far more hectic. We hire an SAT tutor In December, and a subject-specific tutor in May.  Unlike some at Alexander's school, we don't hire a college coach who can help with essays and provide elaborate MIT-worthy analyses of which top schools Alexander has a good chance of getting into.  Alexander takes the SAT in March, the ACT in April, and two more SAT 11’s in June (Physics and Math 2).  In between there are meetings with his college counselor, daily revisions of the school list, and the purchase of many college-related search books to help.  Between February and August, we visit 17 schools in 11 states. 

The fall of senior year is filled with essay-writing, deciding where to apply (making sure there are enough match and safety schools and not too many reaches), asking two teachers to write recommendations, more meetings with the college counselor, and the stress level upped.  Alexander applies to 14 schools.

Winter of senior year shifts to my hands.  Pulling together all the financial aid documents.  Completing the CSS and the FAFSA (detailed forms required by most schools).  Finding out what each school requires for financial aid applications.  Mailing, emailing, or using school-specific forms to submit my tax returns for review.  Checking the websites to determine what’s been received and what is still needed.  Resending the information that has already been sent but somehow not received.

It’s an exhausting process and now it’s over.  For the next very-long three weeks we just wait.

Too much time to think.  All the what if’s.  I think I’m more nervous than Alexander, though I hope it doesn’t show.

It surprises me how much more vested I am in Alexander’s future than I remember being for my own. 

Waiting is the hardest part.  I find my mind wandering to my refrigerator.  The college application process is a great appetite suppressor.